Nguyen, Author at Process Masterclass

November 25, 2024 — No Comments

My App Design Process: A complete breakdown

Currently sitting at my desk - the time is 3:32pm. Been hammering away at a project in Figma - and it dawns on me. I'm currently setting up a component library - renaming layers and setting up the design system. And I think to myself hmm... I can probably be doing something else - organising and renaming layers is a necessary evil, but boring as shit at this point in time. And since I'm my own boss I don't really have to do this if I don't want to.

So the multiple choice pops up in my head. I can:

a) Continue what I'm doing

b) Go to YouTube - watch some tennis videos and go down that rabbit hole

c) Write a case study and share some cool things with you. Do something productive whilst procrastinating.

Pondering for all but 2 seconds I decide to go for c).

So here we are...

What you'll learn in this case study and Part 1 is:

How to preface your design with the right questions
How to be a valuable designer
Terminology and an approach for design for SaaS products and tech companies
The way I think and approach design

It's been a while since I've written one of these so I will try to jam pack it with what I know. Along with stupid memes thrown in - because hey why not. This can be both informational, valuable and hopefully amusing.

Cue the intro elevator music as we step through the project...

This is Crypto the project we'll run through. Where I will teach you some key ideas from my design process which you can use. Not only are we going to look at the product design itself, but also how to build a case study and narrative around the whole product. Great for presenting to stakeholders or if you are working on a case study for your portfolio. We'll start from the design thinking side of things all the way to execution.

For Process Masterclass class students you have full access to these working files under My Lessons 🙂

So what is it?

Crypto is an app/digital wallet that streamlines cash and cryptocurrency seamlessly not just as a store of value but used as a transactional wallet. It is based on the coinbase app, paypal and the cash app.

The value proposition

It's value proposition is that it streamlines cryptocurrency payments, withdrawals and transactions seamlessly. Converting to cash conversions on the fly based on market values. Unlike other wallets it's meant to be used as a utility tool for payments first and foremost, and an investing tool secondarily.

Now there are varying stages for a product like this.

Minimum Viable Product phase AKA MVP (What is the market demand for this and is there business viability?)
A super grass roots version of the product - released into the market to see if there is demand for something like this. We slowly listen to customer feedback, waitlist signups, look at revenue numbers, and growth rate and continue to iterate and evolve the product.
Product Market Fit (Scaling, improving features and tech stack)

At this stage - there's traction. Your product fits a market need and there is demand for it. If your product would leave the market it would be missed.

Think of it as having medicine - it's a MUST HAVE item. If you are sick you need medicine. It's not just a supplement - it's something essential.

This product now serves and solves a very specific paint point or need. This is where we get scale and network effects. The more people that use the product the more valuable it becomes as it creates it's own ecosystem. Think Meta, Slack and Apple.

At this stage there is sometimes capital injection from investors for growth - or you can be bootstrapped, which means there no outside investors and everything is funded yourself and on profits.

This is where design sprints and continuous iterations and improvements are done for the product. And also where marketing spend and customer acquisition increases.

Product Innovation (How to compete with competitors and continually gain market share)

If there is a market - there will be competitors. Once you've found a profitable section of the market - it's easy for competitors to come in and copy exactly what you've done. You've done the research and validated the market. This happens all the time with copy-cats and me toos.

Think about how Threads aka Meta blatantly copied X and how their Instagram stories was also a clone of Snapchat and many of it's winning concepts. Stealing a big number of their user base.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/twitter-may-face-difficulties-showing-meta-stole-trade-secrets-2023-07-07/

So you have to have a point of difference - is it your brand, your product, the ecosystem you've created, or your superior design or tech stack?

They call this a Moat. Something to surround your castle to keep it safe. In this case it is something to surround a business to keep it safe from competitors.
From here you need to innovate - explore new verticals - create and design things that can't easily be copied. Listen to customer feedback and work on design sprints and improvements. The product design never stops, it's a continuous journey.

These are the 3 main business stages that we focus on.

For this project we are in the early Product Market Fit stage. We have a solid product that has traction in the marketplace but we are continually improving it – based on user behaviour, growth rate and user feedback. So we will look at how to iterate an existing product like this and the design process we'd take and use to improve it.

When I start a project it starts with the 10,000 ft view. It's how I approach things as a Creative Director back in the day and it's a habit I still keep with me today.

Getting Meta

Now the purpose of Crypto serves as a case study to teach students of the Process Masterclass how to approach app design, create a visual identity and how to design holistically –thinking things through from A-Z and how to execute based on that.

Whilst the app is a hypothetical project I cover things in depth the same way I would approach paid client projects. Projects that cost tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars throughout my career. Funded startups, ecommerce projects, household brands, government projects and all that jazz.

Projects that have gone on to generate millions of dollars in value.

I will also show you how my process from a thinking point view all the way to design execution.

So let's jump in or in this case let's fly up.

The 10,000 ft view

Projects should start with a 10,000 ft view. And what that means is before you get into the details of a project. Fonts, colors, design software, interactions etc. You should have an understanding of the big picture.

What is the purpose of this project at a high level?
What is it trying to solve and achieve?
What would success look like once we complete the work?

Simple, but it's this holistic approach that will help you create more effective work.

Also when you are intentional about what you do - it will help you communicate better.

You want to get paid and be valued as a designer?

Make 6 figures, do good work, be respected and all that jazz. Where clients and employers happily throw big money at you. Well that starts with the 10,000 ft view.

To be valuable you must deliver and create more value than you are paid.

It's simple math - if you can generate $5,000,000 worth of value it will be easy to see why you would be worth $250,000. The return on investment is worthwhile for both parties.

When you buy something or use a service. There is an exchange in value. You buy a pair of Nikes because it's worth $120 to you. The materials may cost less but the value is worth it. Business is the same way.

Drive, deliver and create value and you will valuable.

Of course you're thinking that's easy to say Nguyen.

But the question is how?

It's about creating results and win/win situations. Where clients trust your expertise and the results you can achieve.

Based on your experience, past work, past clients, past results and your process.

What you and your team create will be beneficial to them and their business. And one day should you desire you can run your own business and create results for yourself instead of someone else.

If you don't feel confident yet on how to create results, keep practicing, keep learning and keep working.

Nothing worth doing comes easy, but have patience and determination and you will be rewarded for your efforts. It's about taking small steps one day at a time. And then one do you like back and realised you've walking hundreds of kilometres. You'll get better.

I had no idea what I was doing when it came to this stuff at the start of my career.

But over time you learn and grow confidence based on small wins and losses (painful but needed learning experiences) over time.

So what is this 10,000 ft view? In short it's the big picture.

This is my playbook. Every project starts with these high level questions. It's why CEO's get paid the most, VPs, Design Managers etc. It's about steering the ship at a high level because these decisions will build the biggest results in the market place.

Even if you are not there yet, if you are a designer with some experience only, or aren't confident yet - just having awareness of these questions will give your work a sense of direction and purpose.

It's not merely - this interaction looks cool for dribbble that's why I did it. Or I have a hunch that this works. Or blue looks cool for this button.

It needs to be more intentional and clearer than that. And these objectives will give you a clear reason for why you do what you do. Because why is important.

These are the main considerations you should have:

1.What are the business objectives for this project? (Some common examples)

Increase revenue by 15% for the quarter
Improve user retention on the app
Improve the lead to customer conversion rate by 20%
Improve the user experience of the app to boost customer satisfaction, word of mouth referrals and our Net Promoter Score
We want to drive new user accounts and collect more email address - 10,000 emails for the quarter

You create value for businesses by driving these metrics forward. You may think isn't this the responsibility of the sales team, marketing department or some other team when it comes to the "business" side of things?

We will touch on this below when we talk about building and facilitating "cross-functional" teams. But working towards clear objectives gives weight to what we do. Clients will have objectives, uncover what they are. Ask the big why questions or ask somebody who knows.

2. What are the user objectives? What do users want to achieve?(Some common examples)

As a consumer (Jess persona) I want to be able to check my crypto balance easily
As a casual user (Naval persona) I want to be able to reliably send bitcoin to my friends wallet
As a consumer (Jess persona) I want to be able to use my crypto card in place of cash instantly on occasion
As a investor (Ashley persona) I want to buy multiple cryptocurrencies and easily
As a casual user (Naval persona) I want to add my bank account
As a casual user (Naval persona) I want to convert bitcoin to cash and add to my bank account within 1 hour.

You create value by solving these user needs. It comes back to creating medicine. Creating products that solve a particular problem that people will miss if they are gone.

We must delight and satisfy user needs in order to build loyalty, to not to get leapfrogged by competitors. And at a grassroots level give them a reason to use your product or service.

Now to solve user goals we have to understand who our users are. And that goes back to user insight and getting data. Who are our users and what are the jobs to be done? ← Watch this video to learn more about jobs to be done.

Now we have 2 main pillars for our design decisions.

What are the business objectives and what is the user objective? And how can I design to solve these needs?

Before you continue you can ask an even bigger question.

3. What is the ethical and social impact of this work?

With the scrutiny of big companies like Meta and creation of addiction in the products we create.

There are also the dangers of using design to mask lousy products that are made with no care and made only to flip a quick buck. Leaving customers out to dry. Do you want to work on something like this? That's up to you and your moral compass and current situation.

There are many social and ethical questions we have to ask ourselves throughout our career.

So you have to make an ethical judgement on what your values are. Because user centred design and just designing to make people happy is not enough. You have to think about the bigger implications. Ethical design is equally as important.

Once you have all this data and information you have a clear picture of the high level objectives- you are armed with the tools and forces to make smart design decisions.

Assembling the project team

When designing you will have to work with other people.

Researchers, developers, project managers, designers, marketers etc.

Remember when we said isn't the job of moving business metrics the responsibility of the sales or the marketing department?

Effective design is not done in a silo. Sure you can get beautiful visual design on your own. You can even do an MVP on your own. But good design is not just about the craft.

“No product is an island. A product is more than the product. It is a cohesive, integrated set of experiences. Think through all of the stages of a product or service – from initial intentions through final reflections, from first usage to help, service, and maintenance. Make them all work together seamlessly. That’s systems thinking.”

Don Norman

Particularly when we are driving business metrics and user objectives - collectively a team has to work together to create an extraordinary experience for the user.

How fast does this thing load? Affects the user experience. You need to work with developers/engineers on this.

Customer service representatives - represent the brand and affects the user experience.

How long did customers have to wait to get answers on an emergency? What are customer frustrated by?

You need to work with customer service representatives to understand users and these needs.

Marketing - how are we currently communicating and getting leads and customers? How can we design this better?

Those are just some examples.

All of these disciplines, create a brand experience, a user experience and effect the people we are trying to serve. Design is functional but also emotional.

“Products were once designed for the functions they performed. But when all companies can make products that perform their functions equally well, the distinctive advantage goes to those who provide pleasure and enjoyment while maintaining the power. If functions are equated with cognition, pleasure is equated with emotion; today we want products that appeal to both cognition and emotion.”

Don Norman

By consulting and working with every department you get a 360 point of view on how you can incorporate the needs and capabilities of each discipline and department. How can we actually design but also be facilitators? How to build bridges and communication between each discipline to create unified experience to hit our business objectives and user objectives?

What is the cross functional team?

A cross-functional team is a team in which the members have different skill sets, but are all working towards a common goal. The best case scenario is to create a cross functional project team which may consist of a PM, engineer, marketer, UX designer, visual designer, lead designer etc.

Rather than each department working in a silo. We work together cohesively.

This is the best case scenario - but even if you are a freelancer or can't build cross functional teams. You can still gather data and be a facilitator for each departments knowledge to come to the forefront of your design decisions in order to help achieve our objectives. Using everyones expertise to co-design.

Once you have this you are ready to go forth and design. Your overview from 10,000ft above gives you the compass you need to execute on where you want to go.

That was a long ride so we'll take a pit stop here. In Part 2 we will focus on the craft side of things. Which will hit your inbox tomorrow, sharing you tips and tricks on the craft and execution side of things.

Ok now we get into the fun part, for me at least.

It's the reason why many of us became designers in the first place.

We like to make things. Beyond being valuable or making money, it's about enjoying what you do. And if we are lucky enough by turning our work into play.

Think holistically - design beautifully.

Now that we have our business objectives, user objectives and ethical considerations. We can use these as our north star from time to time to guide us. But now we can get stuck in the details and start executing.

Consolidate points of views from each team member

Once we have our cross-functional team we can consolidate the view points of each team member.

Now armed with a bunch of data, a bunch of great people close to the problem and product, and clear goals and intentions in mind.

We get started.

Getting started - The blank canvas

Blank figma screen

So when we begin we stare at this blank canvas. There are many ways to skin a cat or approach our work to a desired end result. You can start with some mid-to-high-fidelity work and extrude your ideas from there.

Or you can start with a lo-fi approach, such as sketches, wireframes and build from there.

Despite what people say I've been on project teams where either approach can work. As long as the prototypes gets into the hands of users and clearly addresses their goals and needs. How we get there is merely a means to an end.

Design is not always linear. We do this, then this, then this. Things can happen concurrently and asynchronously.

Here is how you turn that blank screen into a set of ideas, designs, and prototypes that goes into development and into the hands of users and the market place. In turn creating value, through either utility, revenue, engagement and word of mouth promotion.

Think about user flows and epics

When we start we combine all the data and information we've acquired so far.

What are the capabilities of the engineering team?
What is our market positioning?
What do users want to do?
How can we service them?

And we do that by thinking of features and pages through the lens of the user. You do that through user epics and stories. I've written about that extensively here if you want to learn more. Read article

An example of a user epic. Naval is at home and wants to send $4500 USD worth of bitcoins to his business partners wallet. He's run out of cash on his business account and waiting for the outstanding business invoices to get paid for the month. He has yielded a good return on his bitcoin - so he is using the gains as extra capital into his business as a cash injection. His business partner Ash will then use that sum to setup their marketing budget for the month. She's planning their ad campaign at the moment.

Naval opens the Crypto app:

User stories

Naval want's to be able to login in securely using FaceID on his phone.
Naval want's to check his cryptocurrency balance
Naval want's to know what the conversion of his cryptocurreny holdings are for different currencies like USD
Naval wants to be able to transfer bitcoin to his business partner Ash
Naval wants to be able to send Ash bitcoin/cash via her email
Naval wants to be able to select the bitcoin from his list of crypto holdings

So you can see stories are essentially features looked at through the lens of the user. The above is just a sample of some user stories. You can end up with a lot.

So then we make meaning of these stories into a series of logical screens, user flows and interactions.

You can do wireframes or flows here or do hi-fidelity mock ups.

Leverage existing design patterns

When you have your user epics and flows. You can look for inspiration in products that solve that particular problem in the same industry or different industries. You leverage and try to improve what's out there.

You don't always have to reinvent the wheel for the sake of it.

How can we serve users?
And how can I serve users better?
Sometimes it involves reinventing the wheel - but a lot of the time it doesn't.
Leverage what's out there and make it better incrementally.

From a functional point Disney+ and Netflix have very similar mental models and design patterns. The difference is in the content, distribution and the tech stack that delivers these products/services.

Once we have the flows I look for visual design inspiration from various sources. Print media, Books, websites, apps etc. Keep your influences diverse. Then when it comes to interaction design and patterns.

I use Mobbin and look at onboarding and login design patterns. From similar apps like the cash app, coinbase and paypal. You can filter based on different sequences and screen types on the site.

Now I fill the Canvas with these reference screens.

References in figma

You can also add other materials here - like typography inspiration, branding examples, interactions and graphic design. It can serve as a moodboard.

For the next parts I'm going to break them down into a series of bite sized sections so it's easier to digest.

Naming and setting up your file

I like to start by building a series of basic flows.

So what does the sequence of screens roughly need?

What does each screen need to convey to the user so they can achieve the task that they want to perform easily?

And which areas need more friction so user errors don't occur for irreversible actions. ie. Sending money to the wrong wallet etc.

Frictionless and easy is not always the goal. You have to think about the scenario and context too.

So think through these flows from the P.O.V of the user and business goals.

Example Screen. Send Currency User flow. Different key screens needed to create one key user flow. Once you have this you can group things together into Figma Sections, here I've sectioned it to Send Currency. You can see my structure below.

The key with naming and structure is to communicate clearly with the project team exactly how everything is setup. How you do that is up to you and your team - and how you can organise things effectively and efficiently.

This is how I like to do things so it's an idea for you to use.

Modular Design – thinking about flows and systems

Below you can see how I design reusable components - such as the navigation, typography, colours, and various fields. These sections and components derive from the business goals and what users want to achieve so we can create the building blocks needed to rapidly create new screens across many people working on the product.

Here Naval can check his balance easily.

Here I show you how I break down a full app so that the team can easily work on parts of it and digest each section. We break down the app into parts and flows.

You can see that Send currency is one flow or section of the app. Which has screens from 1.0 to 4.0. Any changes or updates to this flow can easily follow this naming convention. Break your app into understandable sections.

For this project the top level Information Architecture is -

Existing Users and New Users.

Then under that tree we have the branches - for Existing Users we have:

Login, Wallet, Send Currency, Withdraw Currency, Settings. And under each of these branches they all have their own flows.

For New Users we have:

Onboarding screens, and empty states for when there is nothing in the wallets.

From there we can systemise parts. Brand and Illustrations, GUI & Icons, Cards, Navigation & Modules, Typography Variables/Styles, Colors, Effects.

Modularity creates efficiency and speed to market. But in the early stages it can be also a bottleneck. Overengineering your design files can slow you down. But being sloppy with many designers and engineers shipping will create problems and technical debt. You have to know which stage you are in, and act accordingly with you and your team.

Prototyping

As we are building these screens we can begin to prototype and test on native devices, to see how things flow together. And eventually to let users test them and get feedback on.

(This was prototyped before the release of Figma Variables which makes a lot of this less spaghetti prototyping and more streamlined.) But the key to prototyping is to create something that can be tested and understood by either engineers, users or stakeholders. How we get there is less about the tool and more about what's efficient.

See the prototype in action

This is a video recording of the WIP prototype I was working on. Always test how things will feel on the end device you are designing for - and for testing with users to get feedback and how to make improvements moving forward.

Is the language confusing or right?

Do things perform how users expect them to?

How fast are key tasks getting performed?

Where are the bottlenecks and users are struggling with?

Record this, log it and then start improving the product and UX.

Preparing assets for presentations and for creating a case study

For this project I also did the visual identity and logomark. Here I break down some fundamental concepts.

Not every project you'll be able to work on the brandmark or the visual identity from scratch. There may be an existing style guide already. But if you are looking to build a design vision deck for stakeholders and for the project team to be on the same page with. These are some artifacts you can create.

The core product is an app, but contextualising adverts like these bring relevance to how the app would feel in a real world environment. Taking the app away from just screens to how it affects people. And what the brand image, user experience, audience and market positioning looks like.

Here's a reference to the mockups I used and created in Photoshop and Figma. For the posters https://urbanpostermockup.com/ and https://supply.family/product-category/mockups/ for the offices.

You can also work with the marketing team to work on Ad creative. It hones in your tone of voice - but also the language you use in your app. Mailchimp really excels at this as a case study.

Images from unsplash that fit the target audience and then mocked these up in Figma. You can also use Midjourney and other photo options.

Another approach for Ad Creative.

You can also show prototypes to stakeholders or in your case studies.

Once you have your screens you can contextualise like some of the screens below.

Then finally screens from your style guide. Things we look for are typography, colors and visual design elements.

Combine all of these elements with the metrics, team work and decisions from Part 1 of this case study and you will have a solid case study for your portfolio. A good collection of artifacts that you can present to stakeholders and key areas to work on with the project team

The design is never done

Product design is never finished. You only have the latest iteration. Once you have designed the screens, tested them and moved them live to production. You must measure and learn to see how they are performing.

You can utilise design sprints to implement new ideas and features

Customer feedback → Value → Hypothesis → Design Sprint → Feedback Loop → Implementation → Repeat → Gain a Competitive Advantage → Build an ecosystem

Remember the best products aren't the flashiest or the ones that designers applaud and share the most. It's the ones that solve a need extremely well, that overdelivers and undersells, and has an extremely loyal fanbase. Sometimes they are just extremely simple things that solve a problem really well for a specific audience.

Published by Nguyen in Uncategorized

August 31, 2024 — No Comments

UX Design, Psychology & Human Behaviour

Written by Nguyen Le

Posted under UX DESIGN - UX design methods

Understanding human behaviour is a big part of UX Design. There are many principles we can learn from fields such as psychology and marketing, to better our design thinking and decision making. So let's explore same basic principles and concepts that we as designers can use in our work. These concepts are also great for framing stakeholder buy in, which is a role not talked about enough when it comes to being a designer. So let's run through some of these useful concepts.

Cognitive Load

Cognitive load refers how mentally taxing it is to do a task. It is essentially a way of referring to how much sustained “brainpower” is required to do something. The more complex a task is — that is, the more contextual details of the task that the user has to keep in working memory. And the more the task demands a high level of focused attention — the higher the cognitive load is for that task.

What can we do? Reduce unnecessary actions, friction and noise

Cursor is already activated – I don't have to select before searching.

Voice Interfaces - when working well can reduce cognitive load and friction

Tactics such as chunking and step forms safeguard against cognitive overload.

Typeform makes forms more approachable by presenting one input at a time. It makes things easier to digest when you chunk a relatively short form like this.

Hicks Law

Hicks law is the concept that says that the more choices you present your users with, the longer it takes them to reach a decision or action. Which of the two makes it easier to select an option?

Too many options and pathways, makes things longer to process.

It's a balance between discoverability and simplicity.

Simplify options with a lot of choices. But also bear in mind that people use more of what they can see. Balance essential tasks and information. Here Nike have hid most of the items under the top navigation Men. When hovered it is broken up into category with sub categories. All items are displayed to allow efficiency and speed. But the clear categorisation of items aims to reduce cognitive load where possible.

Learned Behaviours and existing Mental Models

A bit of a semi old school reference here, but it was a significant change that demonstrates the point of existing mental models and learned behaviours. Like the transition from having a home button to no home button on the iphone.

Your users context and past experiences matter, towards discoverability and how they use and understand things.

What does that instance on the the top left mean? It's a menu button. Easy for designers to know, but what about users seeing this for the first time. We have contextual understanding due to learned behaviours.

What does this button do? Bit harder since we have no mental model for this icon.

It's the app store. On subsequent visits it becomes easier to recall.

Understand who your users are, what they know and how they think. Leverage past experiences to reduce cognitive load.

Design Patterns are your friend

In software engineering, a design pattern is a general repeatable solution to a commonly occurring problem in software design. Or create experiences that learned behaviours can be remembered easily, and become habitual. You can search for common design patterns on sites like Mobbin.

New and unique features can be explained by onboarding.

Von Restorff Effect aka isolation effect

‘One example, known as the Von Restorff effect, is that, in any given number of items to be learned, an item that is notably different from the rest in size, colour, or other basic characteristics will be more readily recalled than the others.’

Use the isolation effect when we want to bring attention to key area. Like for call to actions to clearly stand out from the rest of our layouts etc.

The isolation effect at play – as designers we tend to use this pattern intuitively

Cocktail Party Effect

The cocktail party effect refers to the ability of people to focus on a single talker or conversation in a noisy environment. For example, if you are talking to a friend at a noisy party, you are able to listen and understand what they are talking about – and ignore what other people nearby are saying.’

Imagine that you’re using a website, and suddenly you see your name highlighted on the page. Once your eyes see it, they immediately focus and pay attention to it. This is the same effect but using visual as opposed to auditory input of the senses.

We are selective in what we pay attention to. We have to be, because our brains can’t pay attention to everything, it would be too much cognitive load to do so. This is why in the design of websites/apps/digital products, it’s necessary to think of the user’s goals. What are they looking for? What is going to resonate with them? Which copy is going to draw their attention because it resonates with their interests and needs?

Create information architecture and copywriting inline with how people think and what they’re searching for or looking to do.

Lessons from Don Normans – The Design for everyday things

Affordances

Are the relationship between an object and a person. It is what an object is capable of doing based on the ability of the person and a particular scenario. Even if an object can afford to do different things if the person doesn’t know about it, even if the property exists it doesn’t afford the functionality or ability. Because some affordances are perceivable and some are not.

And if the person has limited ability then the object cannot be used for it’s designed intention. Which is no fault of the person.

As you can see different objects can afford different things, to different people. Because it is not just a set of properties that an object has but it is the relationship between the person and object.

For example a chair allows us to sit on it. But it can be also used as a device to stand on to reach something. But not every person will use it for this purpose. But it’s properties determine that it can do this. If it is also a heavy chair, not every person will be able to easily lift it and move it around. A chair can also be thrown, be pushed over, and can rest objects on top of it. So you can see a chair can afford many different use cases.

Affordances are interesting because it doesn’t just look at the properties of an object, but the relationships that can exist between person and object.

The work we create can afford different things to different people, and sometimes they are used in a ways that we did not intend them to be. Or people did not realise what we’ve created can afford certain abilities.

This is interesting insight because it thinks about the relationship of objects and people. Not just the properties of the object itself.

Signifiers

Are communication devices to cue the user on what something can do. Affordances determine what actions are possible. Signifiers cue the person on where the action takes place. They can help guide a person on the function, limitations, or actions of an object.

Animations, color, sound, labels, dimensions, positioning and depth can all help signify an objects affordances. To get people to use things we have to create great signifiers. Feedback is a concept about letting the user know the results of an action.

If you push a button and a load timer goes on, that’s feedback. It lets the user know that something is happening as a result of that action.

Conceptual models

Are simplified model, of how something works. When we look at a smartphone, we see icons on the homepage. We can tap on any of those icons an app will load. The conceptual model is a series of apps that we can use for entertainment and utility. But behind the scenes there are heaps of circuits, code, batteries and wires that are enabling to happen. Yet we are not conscious of the things that are happening in the background.

So the conceptual model is a simple one in the mind of the user, vs. what is actually happening in the background. The people who designed the parts, the wiring and the engineering behind the product know it as something different.

So the conceptual model that a designer has can be different to the conceptual model that a user has. The designer or engineer, can see the parts behind the scenes. It’s important that they take into account what users might see, think or do as well.

Now to create great products it’s about being aware of this disconnect and joining the two points of views together.

The System Image

Is the actual object itself. That’s the thing. It can be a website, app, device, installation, unit – objectively it can be interpreted in different ways. A designer can see it as one thing, and a user can interpret it as another thing. It’s about joining the viewpoints of both. And that is through empathy and some of the frameworks we’ve discussed so far. Some great food for thought.

Final Takeaway

We can borrow ideas and methods from psychology and marketing greatly to enhance the designs we are creating for users. Understanding certain principles and theories can help us be more insightful in our approach. Be sure to check out all the awesome psychology principles on the convertize site. With great power, comes great responsibility. Use it ethically!

Published by Nguyen in UX Design

January 28, 2024 — No Comments

Free Fonts Collections Figma

Written by Nguyen Le

Hey friends, there was a lot of interest for my free fonts collection figma file. As promised you can grab it right here

Published by Nguyen in Design Tips

August 25, 2023 — No Comments

Interview with Apple Associate Creative Director Jaslin Tonton

How did you land the gig at Apple?

I knew this recruiter from when I was being recruited by HUGE, I turned it down, but we stayed connected throughout the year. I reached out to her every now and then to check on her. She eventually left HUGE, got a job with Apple, and when the position opened up, I was the first person she recommended. She gave them a stellar review of who I was before I went to the first interview—so throughout the whole process, it was a breeze because she really sold me.

That's fucking amazing haha. Really shows the importance of being at the right place at the right time, through great work and networking with people.

100%. stayed friendly with your recruiters. Just like we have design circles, they have recruiters circles. I have no proof of it, but I believe it.

How did the recruiter find you at Huge?

Huge found me through Dribbble. They saw some of my work (Post-Process, of course 🙂 ), and the recruiter reached out to me. First call with her she said, "They're head over heels for you here at HUGE". This was a boost of confidence for me since HUGE was one of those companies I absolutely love at the time.

Our relationship started from there, and even now we still talk.

Awesome I kinda remember you talking to me about this. Around what year was this?

That was around 18-19 BC (Before COVID). She first sent me an email, and we scheduled a quick 15-minute call for her to see if I was interested, and it was during that call that she mentioned that the entire HUGE creative team (The Detroit one) was all crazy about my work.

2018 or 2019. Don't remember the exact year.

So it was having a online web presence that got you a gig at Apple, and of course it was because of your talent and work. If you had to give advice to young designers wanting to work at Apple what would top 4 tips be?

Master the Art of Simplicity: Apple is all about minimalism. It's not about following the latest trend, but it's really about being able to take complex ideas and distilled them into sleek, user-friendly interfaces.

Be a good storyteller: I know this might come across as odd for designers because we think of storytelling more as a writer's job, but your online identity and your portfolio should really tell a consistent story of the kind of designer you are. Your portfolio should be more than visually stunning, but also intuitively navigable, with good storytelling throughout.

People then pixel™: Apple is a company that's all about Humans first. It's not just about creating pretty designs—it's about how those designs make people feel. You need to be able to showcase your empathy, and understanding of people. TL;DR: Don't be a jerk.

Network your socks off. Apple rarely recruits, and when they do it's a very difficult company to even get an interview with. But all those barriers and doors can be breached if you know the right people. You'll be more likely to get an interview if you get recommended by some one on the inside. (edited)

Did you get paid well at Apple or is that under NDA?

When I interviewed with Meta, which was then Facebook, I was told by my recruiter "No one ever leaves Facebook because they didn't get paid enough". Honestly, this applies to Apple as well.

For sure. I will ask if I'm even allowed to give a range. I can say it was PHAT!!

That might have aged me too much. People don't say PHAT anymore, lol.

Lol I resonate with PHAT. But I'm old too.

How about design process at apple how much can you say about that?

We work in small teams, typically led by an ACD or CD, accompanied by one or two designers based on project complexity.Plus, a copywriter and a dedicated PM are part of our team. Each project starts with a detailed brief from the PM outlining the problem. From there, we work closely with our writing team to create that Apple narrative everyone loves. Interesting fact: We don't do wireframes, instead, we would sometimes do rapid block frames, to validate a concept by the lead (but that never gets seen outside of our small team).Our concept presentations are usually launch-ready looking, pixel-perfect. We introduce a few concepts, to stakeholders, then they gave us feedback, we applied those feedback, and just keep moving up the ladder, I mean it's a tall ladder—but the feedback always makes the project stronger. We can't really run user testing like a typical company, cause well, it's APPLE. Most of our user testing are coming from these feedback sessions with stakeholders and other designers in the company. (edited)

A big part of the process is really being able to talk about the work. You never design for the sake of designing, but every single pixel has to have a reason and has to add to the overall story of the page. Nothing is ever random, everything is designed on purposed, even if it doesn't seem that way 🙂

It goes without saying PEOPLE FIRST, always!

One thing, as a designer, even as a CD, you're not really involved so much in the strategy, and the product thinking aspect, that falls solely on the PMs, Brands, etc. So your job is to really focus on the design and execution, so you're not really bugged down with too many things but the one thing you're really good at. As a CD, you're very hands-on. You're designing and doing exploration at the beginning of the project as much as the other designers. It's very collaborative, and we all push each other ideas up to the very last day before the dev team push that publish button.

There is so much more to it, but that would take hours to give all the fine details, but I think this the big bits.

Thanks so much for hanging out brother you're the best. I'll shoot through some community questions next.

Community Questions

Hi! What is the best way to find a mentor- in any field? - Colin Zelin

Some of the best ways to connect with a mentor in any industry are networking events, online communities, and platforms like LinkedIn. Look for experienced professionals who align with your goals and reach out. Keep in mind that the best mentors are sometimes busy, and they may charge for their time. However, the value you gain from good mentorship is worth any investment.

From a design perspective, the release of iCloud for the very first time revolutionized the way we looked at design in the digital space—spearheading the tech and User Experience industry/career paths. As a leaded in innovation and user experiences, how collaborative are your design teams in all areas, with one another? When it comes to feature development, how do digital designers pair with print designers and developers? - Kelsie Ryon

Apple's design teams prioritize collaboration across all areas. Digital designers and developers work closely from the project's outset until launch day, and sometimes even afterward, to ensure cohesive user experiences. Regular cross-functional meetings and communication channels facilitate seamless feature development, effectively aligning tech and design aspects.

I am a designer with 1 year and 6 months experience, and I have been feeling struck lately in my career, what can I do to overcome that. What is the creative process in Apple like? - Grace Taye Adejubee

To overcome the feeling of being stuck in your career, consider seeking new challenges or projects, expanding your skill set through courses or workshops, and finding a mentor who can help you set clear career goals.

Apple's creative process emphasizes empathy to deeply understand user needs, collaboration with cross-functional teams, simplicity in creating elegant solutions, iteration through continuous feedback, attention to detail for high-quality execution, and innovation to push boundaries. This is essentially a cycle of rinse and repeat for everything we do.

What’s the best advice for a designer outside the us to get a job at apple - Oladotun Aboaba

The process would be the same even if you were in the US. First, have a portfolio that showcases your attention to detail. Network and customize your resume for the job you're looking for. Consider a contract or freelance role initially; understanding Apple's inner workings makes transitioning to full-time easier. Your willingness to relocate to the States, especially California, would undoubtedly play a significant role.

In your experience, what are the best skills and traits, that either yourself as a director, or others in high level roles, have acquired that you believe propel highly successful companies, such as Apple, forward? - Zoe Moorton

When it comes to leadership skills, a couple really stand out for me. These are the ones I consistently work on and they've made a huge difference in my career.

First off, it's about recognizing that you don't have all the answers and being open to learning from anyone. Basically, leaving your ego at the door.

The second big one is nailing effective communication. Being able to get your ideas across clearly to everyone, from top to bottom, is what drives an organization and a team forward.

And you know, there are some other traits that are definitely worth picking up. Here's a mix in no particular order: being a solid listener – you know, actually listening to understand rather than just to answer – plus having empathy, and being adaptable.

One question I have for Jaslin is how does he balance intuition and user research, what is his process like for ace-ing a design exercise in an interview, and what the biggest hurdle he had to overcome going from senior or director level. I was director changed my job then got laid off now it feels almost impossible to break back in to creative mgmt. any help or coaching you can offer? - Lindsey Jelig

Balancing Intuition and User Research: Finding a balance between intuition and user research involves trusting your instincts but validating them with user insights. Start with your creative gut feeling, then incorporate user feedback to refine and validate your design decisions.

Excelling in Design Exercise Interviews: To excel in design exercise interviews, focus on understanding the problem deeply before diving into solutions. Prioritise user needs, communicate your thought process clearly, and iterate your design based on interviewer feedback. Occasionally, it's okay to express something like: "I don't have enough data to make an effective design decision, that would help the user, so I would love to do some more research and get back to you about this specific problem" I've used this exact phase when it made sense, and it still ended up with a job offer. Saying, I don’t know, is sometimes the right answer.

Challenges Transitioning to Director Level: The most significant challenge when transitioning from senior to director level was adapting to higher-level decision-making and strategic responsibilities. Balancing hands-on design work with managing teams and aligning with broader business goals required a shift in mindset and skill set.

Break back in to creative mgmt: I understand that your situation can be challenging. To transition back into creative management after experiencing job changes, consider these steps: First and foremost, take an honest look at yourself – do you genuinely enjoy management? Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages. If you're leaning towards a positive response, then identify areas where you can enhance your skills.

Once you've clarified this, focus on refining your resume and portfolio to reflect your ambitions for the role you're pursuing. Remember, your past experience as a director contributes valuable insights and expertise. It won’t hurt to get a mentor, that can help you in your journey.

When handing design files off to developers, what level of detail are the documents and folders- and how far do you break out assets? What is expected at that level and how might I start integrating it into my everyday work flow? - Andrea Lane

To be honest, I don't believe the Apple way of handling files for developers is worth adopting. However, there are some aspects I find valuable to share and think are worthwhile. The best way to assist your developers is not just handing them the file, but conducting a developer walkthrough. The initial exposure to the design file shouldn't occur only during the handover. Collaborate closely with your dev team (when feasible); it will significantly streamline the process and enhance everyone's experience.

For the famed landing page experiences that Apple is known for, how much of the animation experience is prototyped? What is the process he uses to convey experience animation to the development team? What does he use for prototyping interactions (after effects)? - David Carillo

I can only speak for projects I lead at Apple, but for each project involving animation, we create prototypes. We collaborate with the development team to decide between video or coded animations. Interestingly, many animations on Apple's site are coded. We use After Effects and collaborate closely with animators to realize ideas – animation isn't my role, nor do I aspire to be an animator. Occasionally, I sketch on paper, but effective communication remains key when it comes to getting your ideas understood.

Published by Nguyen in Career

August 3, 2023 — No Comments

How to get better at Visual Design

Written by Nguyen Le

Posted under DESIGN TIPS – Keep making things

This is a no frills account on exactly how I got better at visual design over the last 10 years. Young designers and many people tend to ask “Nguyen, how the fuck do I get better?” Well maybe not the fuck part, I just added that for dramatic effect. But you get the idea. There’s always an urgency when people ask me that question. They want to get good as quickly as possible. So what are some tips that I would offer when it comes to the visual side of our work.

The truth is there really isn’t any secret formula that I used. No secret sauce or magic beans, I just showed up and did the work day in and day out for 10+ years. But that wouldn’t be of much value to you if I’d just told you that. So if I had to put it more concisely, and if I looked deeply this is how I progressed by following these 5 guiding principles. And I believe if you follow these principles and apply it often you will progress quite quick.

1. Develop an eye and taste for good visual design

They say you are the product of your influences, so start to develop an eye for good visual design and get good influences! Early on I had great mentors who I worked with, who really helped my eye and appreciation for good visual design. They opened the door to this other world of inspiration that I'd never been exposed to. Great designers, great agencies, great work, design history and a catalogue of books and references.

Your taste and benchmark for what's good is what sets you apart and can elevate your work further. You need to train your eye and raise your standards. The best way is to work under a mentor or mentors. That feedback loop is invaluable, because they help you to notice details that were invisible to you before.

If you don’t have access to a mentor. Start curating and absorbing as much as you can with what’s out there. Save websites, apps, images, books and start creating your own visual library and catalogue. Culture is also a big player in taste, so go deep on your areas of interest and see how design is in that subculture. ie. You might be into tennis culture, basketball culture, street wear culture, food culture etc.

Finally, keep raising your standards. I still feel like my work falls short 99.9% of the time, I’m always trying to get better and that’s coming from someone who is 10+ years in. I enjoy the process and I keep working towards that ideal. It’s fun and I find the process rewarding.

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you.
A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this.
And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
IRA GLASS

My inspiration board on mymind. If you want to find what else inspires me visually you can also check out http://www.process-masterclass.com/blog#inspiration

2. Learn by copying

They say everything's a remix and I totally agree. I learnt a ton by copying and reconstructing work I admired in my spare time. I think you can learn a lot by copying, by actively creating and remaking things you are internalising a process. You start to understand perhaps on an intuitive level how great designers piece things together. I copy to learn and to build from. And coupled with good taste you will start to develop a feel for what you want to make. Once the right problem comes along you’ll have a catalogue of styles and approaches that you can use to solve a particular problem. Remember though use copying as a learning tool and not for plagiarism. There’s a fine line.

3. Put in the hours to practice, learn the fundamentals and experiment

You are only as good as the hours and the reps that you put in. You may have the eye for things, but you need to know how to execute.

Case in point: If you are right handed, try and pick up a ball and throw it with your left hand. If you have something else laying around try throwing that. First try with your dominant hand and then your weak hand. You’ll notice the huge discrepancy. In your mind you know what the mechanics are, you know what you need to do, but if you actually tried you’d know the ball/objective wouldn’t go very far compared to if we threw it with our dominant hands. That is the huge difference between ‘knowing’ what to do, vs. the experience and reps needed to get good at something. And being able to ‘execute’ on what you ‘know’.

So for visual design you might have the taste, but like Ira Glass says you need to close that gap. You need to put in the hours to make things. Play around with type, colors, images, grids, layout and interaction ideas. Nothing beats deliberate practice. Reps build expertise. Take the time to read, take courses and learn the fundamentals. Practicing only when inspiration strikes is for amateurs. Set up a healthy routine to practice consistently. This will compound your efforts.

Grids are good for the soul.gif — Grab my free grid files for Figma.

4. Apply what you've learnt on real projects

Practice is all well and good. And it’s great for the pie in the sky type stuff. But you need to be real world ready. You need to be ready for the big league. That’s when you can contribute the most and when you will be tested for your ability to create and design against tight timeframes and more restrictions. When we practice it is our opportunity to express ourselves visually and have more free reign. When we work on commercial projects it tests our ability to give meaning to information.

How can we create structure and hierarchy?
Tell stories visually?
Evoke emotion with our work?
Create beauty and value for users and businesses?

You work needs to be able to achieve certain goals and outcomes. For your work to be valuable it needs to have feedback loops from the people you will effect. Being able to connect disparate pieces of data and give meaning to information visually takes a ton of skill. It takes the ability to adapt and execute on great visual design in a fast paced environment and with restrictive briefs. This builds your match readiness and your ability to deliver something out of nothing when you are called upon. Do a lot of real projects!

5. Make it your own

After a few years you will begin to have your own approach, based on all your cumulative experience. When you start to amalgamate all of your inspiration, taste, experience, practice, repetitions and real world projects. You start to find your own approach. You have patterns of play in your head and you start to carve your own identity as a designer. This is where you can really own it and make it your own. Start to define your own truths and play to your strengths. It’s important to start owning a process for outputting beautiful visual design. Start doing work that is unique to you.

“It’s my failure to sound like my heroes that’s allowed me to sound like myself.”
JOHN MAYER

As a caveat – first and foremost I believe you must have the desire to get better, that motivation and almost an unrelenting and competitive drive to continually want to improve is necessary. It’s critical. You can call it passion, you can call it ambition but for me it was just called having fun. I enjoyed working, I enjoyed admiring designs, I enjoyed the work of other designers and I enjoyed seeing the gradual improvements come overtime. It was almost addictive. And since I dislike most of my work and am always trying to get to that ideal. I just keep trying, even til this day I just keep trying. You have to have that passion and fire in your belly. That is the blueprint I used, is not a tactic, or even a direct step by step how to guide, but a set of guiding principles.

So a recap on how you can improve your visual design skills

Develop an eye and taste for good design
Learn by copying
Put in the hours to practice, learn the fundamentals and experiment
Apply what you’ve learnt on real projects
Make it your own

Published by Nguyen in Design Tips

June 28, 2023 — No Comments

Mentors = Growth

Written by Nguyen Le

Posted under BUSINESS - Don't do it alone, learn the path from those who have come before us

Mentors I’ve had throughout my career have been instrumental to my growth as a designer. They helped guide the way and gave me that little push that I needed to realise more of my potential. The moments where I was lost and didn’t know if I was good enough to be a designer, or how to improve my work, or whether or not I could quit my job and run my own business. I looked at my mentors who paved the way for so many of these big decisions and actions that I took. Both through their own actions and their advice.

And so I ask you do you sometimes feel unsure about where your career is headed? Or wonder what’s next? Or you feel a lot of pressure because where you are now and where you want to be is not in alignment.

I did sure did, when I first started I wondered if I was good enough often. I’d lay awake and wondered maybe I wasn’t cut out for this. But then the passion continued to burn bright, I put my head down, listened as much as I could, pushed my comfort zone and continued to do the work. And a lot has changed over the last decade.

You may be having these feelings and that’s ok. And it’s where mentors can come into play. They can help inspire you, make you think bigger and give you the fire needed to take the actionable steps needed to progress.

And so I want to share with you a simple guide with how I approach mentorship and my influences.

1. Learn from people many steps ahead as inspiration

These are the people that have done incredible things. People who can expand your thinking and mindset about what’s possible. The people whose stories and lessons you can take as inspiration and insight.

For me personally, there have been so many over the years so I can’t name them all, but these are the people that I’m currently looking to and learning from. Phil Knight – co-founder of Nike. Brian Chesky co-founder of Airbnb, Ben Horrowitz - VC from Andreessen and Horrowitz. So you see mentors don’t necessarily have to be people in your office or neighborhood, or someone you can have a coffee with. They can be found in books, online or in videos. These inspirational mentors are for growing your mindset about what’s possible. The inspiration to allow yourself to dream bigger.

It all starts with your mindset and what you think is possible. I know it sounds hocus pocus, but it works. As your context expands, your potential expands with it.

2. Learn from people a few steps ahead for actionable advice that you can apply immediately

The first type of mentors are great but they serve more has the high level values and not necessarily the actionable stuff that you can implement. Your position, ability and mindset can’t make the many steps required to operate at the level that the first mentors operate at.

If you are learning how to hit $100,000 next year, whilst trying to do your best work with clients, perhaps learning how to run a billion dollar business isn’t the best way to learn actionable advice. So this is where people who are just a few steps ahead come into play. Whatever pain points you are facing there are other people out there who’ve solved them. Whatever your goals are there are people out there who have done just that.

I’ll give you a very real current example. I just committed to investing $2.5k to join a mastermind group. This group is a bunch of entrepreneurs who all run businesses much larger than mine. Founders running multi-million dollar businesses. All people I can learn from who are a few steps ahead. It’s run by Mitchell Harper the former CEO of BigCommerce – who scaled his business to $200 million in revenue. A very knowledgeable but also very down to earth and nice guy.

He knows a thing or two about running business and what it takes to scale a business from 6 figures to 7 figures. (Where I am at the moment) Plus he’s a fellow Aussie which helps 🙂 But this information would have been useless to me, when I was starting out.

So the right information has to come at the right time for it to be useful. That’s why you need to find people who are just a few steps ahead and not light years ahead. Because that mental shift may be one that is too big to take.

From being a junior designer, just getting my feet wet, trying to get better at design and earning just over $100 a day. To today where I am aiming to scale my business to $1million by next year. It’s something I haven’t done before, it’s scary and bloody challenging. I’m prepared to be the little guy, and learn from these people who are a few steps ahead. They know what challenges I will face and what actions I need to take and how I can be accountable.

I for example through this newsletter may be a mentor to you, I may be a few steps ahead or I can be more of the inspirational type, depending on where in your career you are. I share and will continue to share my journey with you in the hopes that you can learn and also grow from my experiences.

3. You scale your influences and mentors as you progress

Your list of influences and mentors will continue to change as your mindset, expertise and capabilities grow. The people I learn from changes as my knowledge, circumstance and experience changes. When I first launched my course amazing people such as Paul Jarvis, Gary Vaynerchuk, Sean McCabe and Nathan Barry – were people I learnt from and very instrumental to my growth and actions.

When I was learning how to be a better designer, I looked to Dieter Rams, Massimo Vignelli and people such as Anton Repponen and agencies such as Fi. Now I have much different influences and mentors. Your influences should change, because that is a sign of growth and progress.

So scale your influences and mentors with your own growth.

So to recap:

Learn from people many steps ahead as inspiration.
Learn from people a few steps ahead for actionable advice that you can apply immediately.
Scale your influences and mentors as you progress.

Go find and learn from mentors who align with your values and have achieved what you want to do. They are out there, you just need to put in the effort to look. Stand on the shoulders of these giants, so that you can see further. Use their wisdom and experience to carve out your own path and journey.

Published by Nguyen in Business

February 23, 2023 — No Comments

7 tips on how to create a successful portfolio

Written by Nguyen Le

Throughout my career I've looked through thousands of portfolios. On both ends, as someone hiring but also as someone trying to land a role or a gig.

Over that time I've also helped countless designers craft effective portfolios.

Through all that experience these are my tips for crafting a successful portfolio.

1. Start at the end and work backwards

What is the purpose of your folio? Rank and be clear on your goal because this will dictate how you approach your design. Use this as the drivers for your design decision making before you get into using cool fonts, trendy layouts and animation that will get you likes on social media. Don’t blindly do what everyone else is doing.

What outcomes do you want from your folio?

Is it to land a job?
Is it to land freelance clients
To build brand awareness or to show your body of work?
To connect with others?
To build authority?
To express your creativity? etc.

Intention drives outcome.

So once you have a clear idea of what you want to happen, you have to reverse engineer that with your solution. How do we design and craft a folio that will help us reach our goals and deliver an outcome that we want.

ie. A job at Google or AirBnb for example.

Think about what you need to do and work backwards from there. Find people who work at Google or Airbnb - offer them value first. And then ask specifically what you need to get your foot through the door.

2. Understand who you are reaching

Like all design projects it’s important to understand your audience. Identify, empathise and get into the minds of the people that you are designing for. The more you understand your users the better you can anticipate their needs and connect with them on a deeper level.

Who are they?
What are their thoughts?
What should they feel?
What are they thinking?
What do they want?

Group and identify who they are. And then consider to use tools like an Empathy Map for your different user groups to get your mind ticking. (You don’t have to use this but it can be helpful)

You may be thinking it’s just a folio what does it matter – I’ll just show my work. But if you are clear with your intentions and goals – you can make your folio stand out for the right reasons and cut through the noise. The way you showcase your work, the language that you use and what you focus on will be tailored perfectly to your audience.

The way you speak to a Hiring Managers/Design Executive who is looking to hire might be completely different to a direct client who wants to boost their sales.

For example:

Hiring Managers/Design Executives may be short on time so they need a snapshot of what you do quickly. Maybe having 20 projects is not the way to go. They care more about your craft, thinking and if your personality is a cultural fit for their agency or company.

Can you do the job that needs to be filled. Have you done similar work to what we do?
Are you going to be a risk factor? Or a perfect fit.
Do you use the same tools and methods that we do? Figma, design thinking etc.
What is your design experience background where else have you worked?
Do you show that even IF your work is not up to standard yet - that you can learn and how long will that take?
Are you recommended by someone I know and trust in my circle? (this one is huge)

No one wants to look bad and make a bad hire. So the trick is to tick all the what if questions people might have. Remove all the risk factors as much as possible.

Whereas a direct client may care more about who you’ve worked with (so their time and money won’t go down the drain) – to see what kind of results you have driven for other clients. You are building trust through your work and what you communicate. So in your folio you will showcase how a redesign was able to give a site 45% increase in sales or traffic. And really prioritise and make this metric shine in your folio.

If you understand your audience you can anticipate their needs and create an experience that connects. You will know what they ‘value’ and what they seek. You will be helping them connect the dots. When you create a positive impression or experience – you are giving them something enjoyable.

And as a rule of thumb ‘always give before you ask’. Offer something of value and enjoyable upfront first before asking. With something like hey “PLZZZZ HIRE MEEE!! OR GIVE ME YOUR MONEY!”.

If you are looking for a more senior role it’s imperative that you have a track record. Some social proof, show your thinking and process. Who you've worked with matters - because it reduces hiring risk and creates desirability from companies in similar industries or verticals.

Even if you are starting out. Show what inspires you, show the work that you admire and aspire to do. Run through what you’ve worked on, how you solve design challenges and where you want to be.

1. So one way to showcase this is through detailed case studies. And even if you just do 1 brilliantly that is all you need to setup an interview. Want a reference on a great case study? Super oldie but a goodie – Michael Evenson on the Soundcloud App design. Or you can do it simply like Koto Studio https://koto.studio/work/whatsapp/

2. And the second thing is a blog or journal. Talk about your journey, who are you? What do you think about? What are you interested in culturally? And what inspires you? We are all just consuming content that are a series of 1’s and 0’s on a screen.

But on the other end is just a person, make that connection. Understanding how to write will make you a better designer. Learning how to empathise and connect with people will make you a better designer. Showing your process will make me and others understand what kind of designer you are.

3. Or you can skip the blog or journal and engage in online communities. Twitter, Dribbble, Slack, LinkedIn, Tiktok, Youtube - these are all areas where you can connect with others in the space. Share your opinions and ideas on any platform. Or just listen and say thank you. Just be around and your environment will make genuine connections.

Sometimes the best thing to land a job is just to get a recommendation from someone people trust. If people see your face overtime they are more likely to know, like and trust you.

4. Less is more - curate, curate, curate

As illustrated by the case study example above. Less is more. Don’t show all your projects. Show the best and most relevant projects to help you reach your desired goal.

Want to work on more product design? Then showcase more of that type of work.

Don’t have the clients yet? Start self initiated projects that are in depth and showcase that you have an understanding or at the very least a willingness to learn and explore that avenue.

So the focus is on having less project examples and more quality case studies that are targeted to your IDEAL audience. A good rule of thumb is 3–6. But once again it depends on your audience and your goals.

5. Tell a story

This is your brand. This is what can seperate you from everyone else. Tell a story through the visuals, through your positioning, through your writing, through the interactions/details and most importantly by making your work shine. Stories have the power to connect. Learn to tell a story of who you are, how you work, and how you speak to your audience to reach the goals and outcomes that you want.

6. Great work trumps everything

Finally and most importantly this.

Focus on your work! The work is everything. No amount of jazzing your folio with superficial gloss will help.

Work on delivering great work – execute beautiful designs, present sound design thinking and showcase the impact your work has on the people you are designing for.

Users and businesses. So if you have great work you can break all the so called rules/tips and still have a compelling folio. If you’re not there yet – spend more time absorbing, practicing and designing.

Create stunning work, or exceptional business outcomes, or even better both 🙂

7. Track, Iterate and Improve

I know it may be hard to find time on top of everything else that you do. But if you haven’t reached the goals and objectives you’ve set out with you folio. See what’s working and what’s not working. Get feedback from your target audience/users.

It can be from hiring managers, mentors or peers.

And find out how you can improve it and iterate upon it.

Remember a folio doesn't always have to be a dedicated site, it can be on twitter, instagram, dribbble, youtube or even a figma prototype. A place that says this is who I am and this is what I do in a nutshell.

Keep tweaking things and reach your goals.

The art of selling and presenting our designs

Written by Nguyen Le

Posted under BUSINESS - Knowing how to present and sell is an invaluable skill for designers

Why is presenting and selling important?

Selling is not a dirty wood, I used to believe it was. Like somehow it would ruin the integrity of my work. I believe designers should change their mindset on this. Selling your design and ideas is the difference between landing a dream project/client, getting your work realised into production, or nothing at all. And it took me a good 6-7 years to get good at this. You gotta Don Draper that shit up and learn how to present it whether that is in person, via video conference or email.

Presenting and selling well is about education. Educating your client on your processes, getting them into seeing your perspective and how your design is going to hit their objectives.

How can you get better?

As mentioned you have to sell and answer their why. Why is the design you are proposing the right solution. Put it back to the objectives. How does your work relate back to the business goals? How will it serve users better and create value for them.

We’ll use email as an example.

Consider these 2 emails.

Hi Bartholemew Shoe,
Here is the homepage design. Let me know what you think.
Attached jpg.
Cheers,
Nguyen

Open ended, not very specific and offers no real insight. Versus.

Hi Bartholemew Shoe,

Here is the homepage design. It takes into consideration the key objectives that we are trying to reach as outlined in the brief.

1. Increasing user engagement to key section X, Y, Z. 
2. Increase conversions on target pages X,Y.
3. Decrease drop off rates on page X.

I also identified and focused on these users as I was mapping out the sections of the homepage. 

1. Staff - Outline specific needs and how we are solving them
2. Parents - Outline specific needs and how we are solving them
3. Teachers - Outline specific needs and how we are solving them
4. Students - Outline specific needs and how we are solving them

Send a link with annotated notes that relate to each user and what each section hopes to achieve. (Use Figjam or Figma for this)You can view my notes by hovering on the blue dots. You can aslo respond directly to my notes on these comps by simply click on the specific areas.

Also here is a prototype for how I think certain interactions can work, that can provide a simpler experience for the above users. (Send some prototypes of how the user flow certain interactions can work.)

With this we have a began a good foundation for the visual language for the rest of the site. Would love your feedback and to hear your thoughts to keep the ball rolling.

Cheers,Nguyen

With this piece of communication we've established 3 things. The overall business objectives, the user objectives and finally thinking about the smaller details in the production itself. It makes the work more specific. It gives value to the creative. Taking the subjectivity out of it. This can example can be applied to any medium and the principles are the same.

A big project case study on a website.
A presentation for a RFP, both verbal and written.
Presenting your work to clients.
Presenting your work to perspective clients via email.

Educate and outline how you can solve specific problems. Tie it all back to why your design and proposition works in relation to these objectives. Do it from a macro and micro level and that’s how you present and sell well. Now go crush it with your design concepts and presentations!

Published by Nguyen in Business

August 18, 2022 — No Comments

3 ways to become a more valuable designer

Written by Nguyen Le

My whole mission is to help designers become more valuable. But what the f*** is value, and creating value with design?

Value is what you bring to the table, via a set of skills and attributes that accomplish something that a company or a market wants.

And how valuable you are is based on your reputation, skills, both hard skills like how well you design, both visually and functionally. But also soft skills how well you communicate, how well you can lead teams, present and sell, and your culture fit and what team mates/stakeholders think when working with you.

The rarer and more in demand your skills are (based on market needs) the more you will be paid, and valued.

So how do you focus on becoming more valuable?

Here are 3 ideas to do just that:

1. Do work that solves problems

The first way to be more valuable is to do work that solves problems. Look and think beyond the pixels, prototypes and the craft in your work. And zoom out and think at a high level. What is it that I solve for the businesses that I serve?

This is a fundamental question that you should try to answer.

Do you know how your work drives revenue/financial gain for the businesses you serve?
How much does your work, contribution or leadership contribute to the worth or market cap of a company?
Do you solve visual problems that create massive or little value?
Do you solve business problems - such as the redesigning of an organisations processes? Or drive other key business metrics that they value? Building brand equity, building good team morale, driving conversions etc.

When you can clearly and concisely see how your work solves problems for the organisation that you are working for. Or for the stakeholders that you serve.

You can then identify the leverage that you have, and ultimately learn what you are worth.

Tip: You might be thinking that's all great but where can I get started Nguyen? Check out the Business & Marketing section of the Vault. Another great way to learn is to start a side project. Learn by doing, and learn how to market something.

Another way to look at it is - your value (what you get paid and how much people are willing to work with you) is based upon the kind of problems that you can solve with your skillset.

Because not all problems are created equal.

If you core skillset is visual design work for example - if the majority of the marketplace can also do what you do, that means you are easily replaceable. Valuableness is a trade of supply and demand.

If what you do is “specific” or difficult to replace then you will be a valued asset at any organisation. You could be a world class illustrator. UI/UX designer that is extremely efficient. Or a great product designer that has diverse knowledge.

These are all valuable skills - but you have to be in the top quadrant of what organisations are looking for to be valuable. Someone that people can trust - based on your work history and who you've helped in the past.

Try to be a linchpin with what you do and gain specific knowledge. Refer to this great post as to what specific knowledge is via Naval Ravikant.

It's worth noting the kind of work that you do is not objectively valued the same across industries, locations and organisations.

Sometimes you need to change where you work. Whether it’s for someone else or eventually for yourself.

Varying stages of a business have varying needs.

You can do roughly the same kind of work - but if the context and application is changed based on the environment and location that you work ie. If you do work in Silicon Valley for a funded startup vs. a big ad agency vs a consulting firm vs. for a small studio in a country that has a weaker currency and cost of living - there will be a gap on what the market can pay you based on the clients served and the revenue generated by those companies.

That's why even after the market crash design tech wages are still very high L5 designers at Google get paid approx $305,000. vs. If you do product design in a country like the Phillipines, for a small agency - your skills may be very good, but you will get paid drastically less.

Because the problems and clients you serve may have a smaller footprint financially.

You have to market and find where your skills will be the most valued.

There are 2 ways to look at value creation in the marketplace.

1. Design work that solves problems at scale. Solve a simple problem for a lot of people. Airbnb, Netflix, Facebook, Tik Tok, Instagram, Uber, Ecommerce, Web3 etc. Or launch a course like me, or an indie SaaS service like Semplice.

2. Design work that solves problems for specific and smaller group of high value individuals or organisations. ERP systems for banks, government jobs, service design, partnership/co-foudning with high net worth individuals.

Start looking for bigger problems to solve and how you can move the needle in areas that the market highly values. Web3 and AI are new frontiers you can explore.

Or learn timeless skills like marketing, UX Design, business acumen, soft skills, how to drive revenue growth, how to be irreplaceable by driving company culture, by being a linchpin in an organisation.

The key is to learn one thing at a time as you go along. Or else you will be overwhelmed.

Find pain points that you can ‘design solutions’ for. Your worth from a monetary point of view - is based on the value you can create for others.

If you can scale this - ie. create a product or service that can reach a lot of people you can become very wealthy. Or if you don’t have such ambitions those skills are highly valued at many organisations.

So learn to design and solve problems in areas that businesses and the market values. But above all something that you enjoy.

2. Discover your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) and learn to sell

Second is to learn what your unique selling proposition is. What makes you unique from somebody else? There are specific knowledge and skill sets that you naturally build over time.

A USP you might have is a you are a talented designer but you also have a great personality that is optimistic and know how to uplift people. And you know how to lead teams and bring the best out in people to create not only great results but a great work environment. Not many people can do that. Find a specific angle or point of view that makes you world class at something.

Niche down as much as you need. I am the best Asian-American product designer in New York that has a psychology degree in consumer behaviour along with a deep knowledge of suits, and vintage/bespoke watches for example. That’s what makes you different. So that edge may make you the best fit for working at https://www.hodinkee.com/ as an example.

Inline with this you need to learn the art of selling. Selling is a severely undervalued skill in the design scene. Selling is not just about screaming here’s a SALE, buy my shoe, or that used car salesman vibe. It’s about persuasively putting ideas and concepts forth - in a way that can resonate with other people and for them to buy in to your vision. Whether that’s to hire you or to get buy in from stakeholders.

Good article on selling and the basics. https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/how-to-sell-anything-to-anybody

3. Stack and mix diverse skill sets on top of your design skills

Inline with everything we’ve talked about - a great way to increase your value is to mix diverse skill sets on top of one another. If you are a great UI designer that has deep marketing knowledge - you can bridge the gap between departments. You can effectively have a more holistic approach to how you think and approach your work.

The key is to keep learning and expanding your horizons.

This is called talent stacking a term coined by Scott Adams the creator of Dilbert. It’s the idea that you can combine normal skills until you have the right kind to be extraordinary.

'He’s not the best artist — there are better artists than him. He’s not much of a business expert — there are more savvy experts. He has never taken a college-level writing class. Yet, he created Dilbert, a famous comic strip that appears in 65 countries. Scott is said to have a net worth of $75 million, majority of which comes from Dilbert.'

“When you add in my ordinary business skills, my strong work ethic, my risk tolerance, and my reasonably good sense of humor, I’m fairly unique. And in this case that uniqueness has commercial value.”
SCOTT ADAMS

If you can successfully become the top 20% of 2 different fields that combination will suddenly make you in the top 1%-10% in the world with being about to mix and understand both of these disparate fields.

For example if you are great at build digital products and have a deep understanding of community building, community design, De-Fi, NFT's and web 3. That's an extremely valuable mix as the market matures in the web3 space and demand goes through the roof in a few years.

I also skill stack. I started with design, then stacked learning how to write and communicate on top, then I built my marketing and sales chops. And now I run this business that I happily run, and has done very well financially.

If you follow these 3 tips your value will increase exponentially over time, as things compound.

Wishing you the best of luck.

Published by Nguyen in Business, Career

June 6, 2022 — No Comments

Raise your standards and make more money as a designer

Written by Nguyen Le

Your standards dictate your outcome and results. That sandbox that you’re playing in and that mental ceiling that you’ve created for yourself will create the results you’ll keep getting.If you believe that the maximum rate you can get for a job is $50 per hour. Then you’d be afraid or reluctant to charge that much. So perhaps you ask for $40 per hour instead. This is your standard.

If you believe that the maximum rate you can get for a job is $150 per hour. Then this is your standard.

If you believe the maximum rate you can charge is not hourly based, but the value that you can provide for clients. Then a day can be worth $5000 to $20,000 to you or it can be worth $800 or a lot more or less. This is your standard or your norm.

Each standard will most likely attract a certain type of client, job or business model. So from a financial point of view it will either be the top of the market (the top 10%) or it can be the bottom of the market (the bottom 30%). Based on our above examples.

Standards and pricing is a form of marketing and sales.

Something a lot of designers don’t want to touch with a 10ft pole. It’s uncomfortable and for most us doesn’t come naturally. We don’t mind being the unsung hero sometimes. And that getting to be creative is the privilege and focusing on the money is selling out.

But pricing and getting paid what you are worth matters.

It says to the world and prospective employers, customers, clients and leads that you are at a certain quality. That this represents your standard. When you think of good quality vs. low quality what is a common determining factor?

Price.

As a rule of thumb poorly made goods are usually cheaper. While quality items usually cost more - yet people are more than happy to pay for them.

There is a market out there that is happy to pay you more. Attract and gain the awareness, interest, desire and action of that market. Whether it be a freelance client or an employer.

Have the audacity to say I can work hard to raise my standards, that do things that scare me a little but will help me grow.

How can you raise your standard?

Read and learn more to build the mindset and confidence you need to take the next step
Get a mentor to benchmark yourself against them and their blueprint
Keep yourself accountable with the daily, weekly, monthly and yearly actions
Does your output reflect the standards that you have set for yourself? If not work to close that gap. Through practice, through repetition, through execution, through consistency
It starts with mindset to action
Do something that is slightly out of your comfort zone and keep building on top of that.

Standards are a belief and a value system, if you have a higher standard than the average population – it will require you to think differently than the most and it can be a difficult thing to do. Because that’s the conditioning and the messaging that you’ve been given by mass media and perhaps the people around you.

It applies to other areas of your life as well. If you have good healthy standards and habits it will influence other areas of your life. Like your health, relationship and finances. Eat healthier, move more, invest better, be a better listener. These are all standards you can set for yourself. The most important thing is don’t fret or be hard on yourself if you fail. The journey of improving and closing the gap is reward. The results will be the cherry on top - for the actions that you are taking to meet those standards.

Start reaching your highest potential. One day you’ll look back at the beautiful but arduous path you’ve crossed that got you to where you dreamed to be.

And made you who you are today.

This is not just written to you dear designer friend, but a conversation to my past self. This expanding of the sandbox had me from making $20/hr in my early years to $200/hr, to now approaching 7 figures. If a chump like me can achieve it, through continuous growth, nudging my comfort zone and changing my mindset through time by learning from others. You can too. It was hard no doubt about it, but I just want you to know that it's possible.

If you would like to continue ways of earning more as a designer, I highly recommending checking out my free money workshop video here.

Published by Nguyen in Business

Older Posts ›

So what is it?

Getting Meta

The 10,000 ft view

Assembling the project team

Getting started - The blank canvas

Think about user flows and epics

Leverage existing design patterns

Naming and setting up your file

Modular Design – thinking about flows and systems

Prototyping

Preparing assets for presentations and for creating a case study

The design is never done

Cognitive Load

Hicks Law

Learned Behaviours and existing Mental Models

Design Patterns are your friend

Von Restorff Effect aka isolation effect

Cocktail Party Effect

Lessons from Don Normans – The Design for everyday things

Affordances

Signifiers

Conceptual models

The System Image

Final Takeaway

How did you land the gig at Apple?

That's fucking amazing haha. Really shows the importance of being at the right place at the right time, through great work and networking with people.

How did the recruiter find you at Huge?

Awesome I kinda remember you talking to me about this. Around what year was this?

So it was having a online web presence that got you a gig at Apple, and of course it was because of your talent and work. If you had to give advice to young designers wanting to work at Apple what would top 4 tips be?

Did you get paid well at Apple or is that under NDA?

Lol I resonate with PHAT. But I'm old too.

How about design process at apple how much can you say about that?

Thanks so much for hanging out brother you're the best. I'll shoot through some community questions next.

Community Questions

Hi! What is the best way to find a mentor- in any field? - Colin Zelin

I am a designer with 1 year and 6 months experience, and I have been feeling struck lately in my career, what can I do to overcome that. What is the creative process in Apple like? - Grace Taye Adejubee

In your experience, what are the best skills and traits, that either yourself as a director, or others in high level roles, have acquired that you believe propel highly successful companies, such as Apple, forward? - Zoe Moorton

When handing design files off to developers, what level of detail are the documents and folders- and how far do you break out assets? What is expected at that level and how might I start integrating it into my everyday work flow? - Andrea Lane

For the famed landing page experiences that Apple is known for, how much of the animation experience is prototyped? What is the process he uses to convey experience animation to the development team? What does he use for prototyping interactions (after effects)? - David Carillo

1. Develop an eye and taste for good visual design

2. Learn by copying

3. Put in the hours to practice, learn the fundamentals and experiment

4. Apply what you've learnt on real projects

5. Make it your own

So a recap on how you can improve your visual design skills

1. Learn from people many steps ahead as inspiration

2. Learn from people a few steps ahead for actionable advice that you can apply immediately

3. You scale your influences and mentors as you progress

So to recap:

1. Start at the end and work backwards

2. Understand who you are reaching

3. Share who you are, who you've worked with and how you think

4. Less is more - curate, curate, curate

5. Tell a story

6. Great work trumps everything

7. Track, Iterate and Improve

Recommended resources and further links

Why is presenting and selling important?

How can you get better?

1. Do work that solves problems

2. Discover your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) and learn to sell

3. Stack and mix diverse skill sets on top of your design skills

You might also like:

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